The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) has renewed plans to develop 'Port City,' an ambitious project modelled after established global maritime hubs like as Dubai and Singapore, ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024.

The multifaceted company GVK Group suggested a port city more than a decade ago, first in Dahej and subsequently in Okhamadhi near Dwarka. However, the initiative was abandoned, and the proposal was forgotten. For the project, GVK had also begun discussions with Malaysia's YTL Corporation.

"GMB wants to double the cargo handling capacity of Gujarat's ports to around 900 million tonnes in the next 15 years. The new city will have industrial manufacturing units near the port and the aim is to bring down the logistics costs.," said a senior GMB officer.

The ports regulator is aiming for a port city sprawling on 500 sq km of land and an investment inflow of Rs two lakh crore over the next 15 years to make this project an economic driver for the state.

The officer said that the present cargo-handling capacity of GMB ports is 450 million tonnes, and an equal capacity will be handled through the port city.